Which is better, HTGC or V?

On the Buffett-Fit framework, Visa Inc. (V) currently grades higher than HTGC — 79/100 (B grade) vs 54/100 (C). That said, "better" depends on which framework you trust — HTGC wins on Joel Greenblatt; V wins on Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Philip Fisher, Peter Lynch, Charlie Munger, and Terry Smith. The full pillar breakdown is on this page.

Should I buy HTGC or V?

This page is an educational comparison, not investment advice. Both HTGC and V are graded against the same Buffett 5-pillar framework (moat, earnings durability, management quality, financial health, valuation) plus six other documented investor frameworks. Read the side-by-side breakdown to see which one matches the criteria you care about most — and always do your own research before making any investment decision.

Is HTGC better than V for value investing?

On the Buffett-style value-investing framework, V currently grades higher — 79/100 vs 54/100, a 25-point gap. The gap is driven by which pillars each stock passes; the table on this page shows moat, durability, management, financial health, and valuation side-by-side.

What's the difference between HTGC and V on Warren Buffett's framework?

Both stocks are evaluated on the same five pillars: economic moat (durable competitive advantage), earnings durability (consistent profitability), management quality (capital allocation), financial health (conservative balance sheet), and valuation (margin of safety). HTGC currently scores 54/100 (C grade); V scores 79/100 (B grade). The "Where each wins" section on this page breaks down which pillar each stock dominates.

Which has the stronger moat, HTGC or V?

Moat strength is one of the five pillars in the Buffett-Fit score on this page. HTGC and V are each scored on ROIC sustainability, gross-margin durability, and qualitative signals like brand strength, switching costs, network effects, and regulatory barriers. The pillar breakdown on this page shows the moat sub-score side-by-side so you can see which one has the more durable competitive advantage.

Which is more undervalued, HTGC or V?

Valuation is one of the five Buffett-Fit pillars on this page. Both stocks are scored on owner-earnings yield, price-to-intrinsic-value vs the underlying compounding rate, and the margin of safety relative to a conservative DCF. The valuation sub-score in the table below tells you which one currently trades at a more attractive price relative to its underlying business quality.

Are HTGC and V both Financial Services stocks?

Yes — both Hercules Capital, Inc. (HTGC) and Visa Inc. (V) operate in the Financial Services sector. That makes this a direct sector-peer comparison, which is the apples-to-apples way to use the Buffett-Fit framework: the score weighs each stock against its sector's specific quality and valuation benchmarks (sector-relative bonus), so the cross-stock comparison isn't distorted by inter-sector base-rate differences.

Is this HTGC vs V comparison investment advice?

No. This page is an educational pattern-match against documented public frameworks (Buffett, Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Greenblatt, Munger, Smith), not personalised investment advice. The scores reflect how closely each stock matches each framework's documented criteria — they are not buy/hold/sell recommendations. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser for personalised advice.

Stock comparison

Hercules Capital

Visa

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

HTGC

Hercules Capital

Market cap

$2.87B

Sector

Financials

Visa

Market cap

$630.41B

Sector

Financials

Overall winner

Visa V

Wins on the combined sum of fit scores across all four strategies. Per-strategy breakdown below.

Fit scores by strategy

Strategy	HTGC	V	Winner
Warren Buffett	54C	79B	V
Benjamin Graham	57C	74B	V
Philip Fisher	59C	78B	V
Peter Lynch	50C	64C	V
Joel Greenblatt	79B	74B	HTGC
Charlie Munger	73C	85A	V
Terry Smith	62C	90A	V

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	HTGC	V
Market cap	$2.87B	$630.41B
P/E (TTM)	8.8x	28.4x
EV/EBIT	15.1x	26.8x
ROIC (TTM)	50.76%	32.73%
Gross margin	85.75%	81.29%
Net margin	55.72%	51.68%
Revenue CAGR 5y	15.3%	13.5%
EPS CAGR 5y	6.09%	16.07%
Debt / Equity	1.1x	0.7x
Dividend yield	12.59%	0.79%

Where each one wins

The metrics with the biggest gap between the two - sorted so the most decisive edges read first.

HTGC leads on

Dividend yield12.59%vs 0.79%+94%
P/E (TTM)8.8xvs 28.4x+69%
EV/EBIT15.1xvs 26.8x+44%
ROIC (TTM)50.76%vs 32.73%+36%

V leads on

Market cap$630.41Bvs $2.87B+100%
EPS CAGR 5y16.07%vs 6.09%+62%
Debt / Equity0.7xvs 1.1x+41%

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.

Hercules Capital

Visa

Fit scores by strategy

Side-by-side metrics

Where each one wins

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Key terms in this analysis